[Closed] A bike build... time trialling on a budget

Only if you have a screw loose.

My "record" is 70 something km with a couple of sizeable lumps. Only targets were 1) finish 2) don't get eliminated, there's a few days of racing left to go.

Team mate stopped halfway round for a pi55.
Think he probably beat me anyway.

It'd be an interesting challenge for sure. To do it justice it'd need a big training and planning re-think (probably quite a bit more volume that I don't have the time for.) And a fair bit of work on a more sustainable position too. Probably to the detriment of 10's and 25's. I can sort of get my head around it though, unlike a 12hr or 24hr one!

No reason for 100 mile training to negatively impact 10s or 25s, they still use 99% the same systems. Just a question of nutrition, hydration and mental resolve.

I'll let you know about the 12hr 😉

[quote=ghostlymachine ]Only if you have a screw loose.

I had a screw loose once - I guess I did up to about 80 miles in training on the TT bike, though actually doing a 100TT is a whole different game - I've never found I can get anywhere near matching the intensity of an event in training. I did my best 10 and 25 times the year I did that (can't quite remember whether in the build up or afterwards). Though you're already 20s up on my best 10 (on a decent but not amazing course) - I did 4:21:32 for the 100 (yes I do remember exactly!) on a day when the winner (the then BBAR) did 3:40ish IIRC.

I've never found I can get anywhere near matching the intensity of an event in training.

So I've recieved my Bianchi Sempre back from the LBS with 53/39, 28/11 and an Infocrank.

Other than taping the cable outers together, what else can I do with available tools & shed time to make it faster/more aero, if anything?

Position.
Position.
Position.

Don't bother with anything other than that for the first few races. You'll gain bigger improvements from getting your position sorted so you are a) aero, b) comfortable and c) able to produce the power.

You've already got aerobars haven't you?

That should see you at least until the middle of the summer.

You've already got aerobars haven't you?

Yup. I've been turbo-ing up to 40 minute continous stretches on them, even got Mrs K to video me whilst testing my helmet (not a euphanisim).

c) able to produce the power.

Pre aero bars I've always seemed to produce more power when on the hoods but with my elbows down, the TT position isn't a million miles away from that so although I originally dropped about 5w, I now seem to be +5-10w. But I think that may be mental as in my thought process being "TT!".

Ok cool, I'll crack on see how I go.

You'll gain bigger improvements from getting your position sorted so you are a) aero, b) comfortable and c) able to produce the power.

Not quite the classic pick any two (or one and a half!)... it's more a compromise across all three. If B and C are good then A probably isn't that great... with A being the most important 🙂

I'd just leave everything as is and not tinker. For your first two or three races just get out there and set some markers.

Quite looking forward to the "what time trial bike?" thread. I've got a Stealth frame and a fair few parts going cheap 😉

No sales opportunity here, any spare cash from the forthcoming German Kitchen went on the Infocrank...

New bike was brilliant to ride too. Just ordered one of the ANT+ things to add to the Di2, mostly so I can see battery level from the Garmin as the junction box is hidden in the frame. Might be useful to be able to do see gear selection too, wondering if this is saved in the fit file and can be used for analysis?

https://di2stats.com

wanted to reply earlier but i got banned 😆

Ooh thanks, I shall definitely have a play with that 🙂

Hmm installed but not detecting on the Garmin. Wondering if being shoved in the frame is causing an issue with the signal 😕

Edit... quick google suggests the first thing to try is a firmware update. Now where's the Mac installer... hmm Windows only... arse!

So I did my first time trial - I loved it. I wanted to do 20 hilly miles in under an hour for experience. It was a 2-up, my partner rode on a BMC time machine, me on the road bike.

It was hard, especially the second lap the hills really hurt. And I made so many mistakes - not going aero enough, not turning watts albeit under lactate on downhills, not telling my partner when I had flagging legs...

But I bloody loved it. Such a better atmosphere that Crits, tea and cake, chatting away, then out to focus and do our thing. Just fast! Good training too - 75% at threshold, 25% at VO2max. 🙂

How addictive is this going to be! - Time, 20 miles in 52.34 official.

Ah should have read this thread first! Good work Kryton. More TT to come?

Quick bike update (this is a bike build thread after all!) Got the Di2 ANT+ stuff sorted, firmware upgrade did the job. I had one junction box that was only joining two cables together so just replaced it with the unit. Clever stuff this Di2.

Also succumbed to some TriRig brakes 😳 Currently awaiting a customs charge.

Managed to get out for a training ride on it today which was a lot of fun. Kicking myself a bit for not doing enough work in position over the winter though having promised myself I'd not let that slip (I've got loads of excuses!) So a considerable chunk down on power from the road bike but worth persevering with as it's fast and am pretty hopeful the power gap will decrease over the next couple of months. Oh and Di2 on the TT bike... it's bloody marvellous.

Great work guys! We need a TT thread... And a new Crit racing thread please- I want to try one this year 😀

Yes Mrblobby I've already entered more. I know it's a bit of a drive for you but our club local & memorial ride is on 6th April it's a 10, come and have a go!

Thanks Kryton, evening may be tricky but I may well do as it'd be cool to catch up. Got a link? Will there be cake?

Nice one Krypton57 - well played!

I think a certain kind of person will find time trialling HIGHLY addictive. I know I do!

Here you go - sorry I got the wrong date:

[url= https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1642/25108155853_c9de8ac1b4_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1642/25108155853_c9de8ac1b4_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/EfHRYR ]image[/url]

Definitely cake! 8)

Our easter classic (essex) sportive is on Easter Monday also. 112k , masses of cake which the event is famous for!

Ah shame it's that weekend as mrs blobby already have something on the calendar. And already racing Easter Monday, got a ride on F11/10, not really a huge fan of big dual carriageway courses but it's probably the fastest course within easyish travelling distance.

Be interesting to see if you do get the bug, it is quite addictive. Though much like other forms of racing it can be very bloody frustrating when you don't get it right. Are you browsing the Internet for time trial bikes yet? 🙂

Lol, I've just come here from ogling a Spec shiv offer for £1500. I'm not going to buy one until the seasons out, and have an space issue storing another bike.

Out of interest, what do most people ride on longer - 50 mile for example - TT's? It strikes me an Aero road bike would be more of a comfort for the long stuff? The best bet for me you see is to consolidate my current road bike by buying a Propel/Aeroad type of thing which would leave me with a Summer roadie option. Appreciate it's an aero comprimise.

If you want to go fast a TT bike regardless of distance! Go to a 100 or a 24hr and those that want to go quick will be on TT bikes. You just set it up in a more sustainable position than maybe for 10's and 25's.

I'd have probably thought along similar lines to you before I got into it. Now it really wouldn't be a consideration.

Ah. I'll wait until after summer then to see if it becomes something I want to do next year.

I think Hutch mentioned that he raised his bars 10 mm to do a 25 and 20 to do a 50.

Is an interesting point regarding sustainability. Reading Millars book the other day and he said he'd warm up for a TT on the road bike as his position was only rideable when going flat out.

I think Hutch mentioned that he raised his bars 10 mm to do a 25 and 20 to do a 50.

Hutch used to do the opposite. Higher bars for a the short stuff for maximum power output, then lower bars to get more aero in the longer stuff as it was a submaximal effort so there was less impact to power.

Ah, 10+ years since i read that, memory is fading.

<slight hijack>

Just in case anyone is on a tighter budget, and this happens to fit their needs:

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/HBVTRCFB/vision-trimax-carbon-si-csi-r-bend-flat-bar

£150 at the moment. No idea if it's any good.

That using the extra 40% off code? Looks pretty good, no idea how adjustable or aero it actually is though!

Well a good news bad news day for my TT build. Good news is that after about a month of waiting my TriRig Omega X callipers have finally arrived 🙂

[img] [/img]

Bad news is that the Zipp 808 I brought last year is [url= http://www.zipp.com/support/recall-information/index.php ]subject to a recall[/url] due to an exploding front hub issue. Waiting for more info on UK process from Fishers. Better be sorted quickly as race season proper is fast approaching 🙁

Still need to sort out a full time saddle for it too as I'm fed up swapping the Adamo between turbo mule and the TT bike. A narrow Dash Stage is looking very tempting...

[img] [/img]

Dash?! Lovely! We must get the mods to change the thread title!

Well it seems a shame to put some cheap and nasty saddle on there 😉

budgets gone mad 😆

Build is finished. We're into upgrades now. Different budget 😉

A narrow Stage... 🙂

[img] [/img]

Bothers me slightly that I'm quite far forwards on the rails, but think the rear saddle mount would be too far back. Probably not a problem seeing as I only use the front few cm's of the saddle.

Got my first open of the year on easter Monday so hopefully find time before then to fit the TriRig brakes too.

Bad news is that the Zipp 808 I brought last year is subject to a recall due to an exploding front hub issue.

Oh and happily on closer inspection turns out I have the v9 hub which hasn't been recalled... yet!

Can we see a pic of the final build of this cheap hack you've bodged together then?

How can you tell the hub affected? (I have a set of 404s bought last year...)

Can we see a pic of the final build of this cheap hack you've bodged together then?

About to pop out on it so I'll take a photo in the sunshine 🙂 Won't have the TR brake callipers yet though.

How can you tell the hub affected? (I have a set of 404s bought last year...)

DT, have a look at the PDF in this link...

If you have the flange ring then it's recall time. Mine is the v9 without the flange ring, brought last year too.

While stopped for a bit of saddle tweaking...

[img] [/img]

Not bad for a budget bicycle. 😉

You have to stop cutting the corner when existing the driveway from Blobby Towers though.

Haha I wish that was my driveway. The driveway to Blobby Towers is more suited to gnarmac bikes! I'm never sure whether to ride it on flimsy race rubber or walk it on expensive carbon soled race shoes 😕

Cheap flip flops to walk to the end of the drive then put shoes on and stash the flops until your return 😉

Oh bollox, that looks familiar. Will have to dig them out of the loft to check. Is it a hub swap and waiting weeks or a completely new wheel?

Wouldn't be so bothered if it was the rear as that needs a rebuild anyway.

Nice work on the bike btw 🙂

I think previously they've rebuilt the wheel on a new hub. Probably waiting weeks. Bit of a pain that. I'd research it a bit but would probably risk riding them and send them in after the summer, I think they've had very few actual reported failures.

The r9 does look very similar. Quite relieved mine is the r9 as I got it from an eBay store so sending back would have been a PITA. And the timing would have been rubbish with races fast approaching.

How did the TT go over the weekend riding to power? Can be quite tricky.

Well, plans changed, went out on the sat to test the position, got carried away and instead of a short blast went for a flat out 2hr ride. Logged a 20min pub of 286 and did 25miles in just over 1:15 with traffic and hills. Later that evening sat crosslegged giving the boy a bottle got bad cramp in calf which meant I was hobbling the next day and had to give it a miss. Numpty.

Bit of a balls up tbh, but I enjoyed belting around on sat and picked up the first Kom of the year. First 10 is on the 21st. I will not be a numpty the day before.....

Ah balls, hope the leg sorts itself out.

but I enjoyed belting around on sat and picked up the first Kom of the year.

Is good fun going for a blast on the TT bike. Does feel a bit like cheating 🙂

Well my budget tt bike is a set of clipons on my roadie! But it did feel a bit like cheating, I would love to have a proper go on a full on tt bike.

A few more updates. The TriRig brakes are on, as is the Dash saddle. Still fiddling a bit with the Dash saddle as where I sit on it seems to be a bit different to the Adamo.

Front end was a bit too low too so had to stick an extra 10mm of spacers in there (hopefully they'll come back out later in the year.) Had to take all the bars apart to get the spacers in as the Di2 runs down the middle of the spacer. Changed the brake cables too as I'd made a right mess of the outers on the original install. Had planned to change them for some Jagwire Link but it didn't quite work out (LBS told me the MTB kit they had would be fine with a different pair of inners, but it doesn't have the right connectors, grrr!) Hugely fiddly job, probably wasted around 3 or 4 hours trying to thread various bits of cable through. Probably about half an hour just trying to get the front brake outer through the hole at the bottom of the stem. Whoever designed the Pro base bar and stem interface should be flogged.

Anyway, here's the front end...

[img] [/img]

And here it is in it's current guise.

[img] [/img]

Still only one race so far this year. Easter Monday open got cancelled due to standing water 🙁 Got a club spoco this weekend on it though, and then the club Wednesday night 10's start next week 🙂

Well my budget tt bike is a set of clipons on my roadie!

Doesn't seem to be holding you back DT 🙂

Second race last night, a lumpy club ten. Pretty windy so swapped the 808 for a 404. Crazy race, 30+ mph all the way out, then about 25 most the way back up the hill into the wind. Bike worked well, though still haven't quite got settled on the Dash saddle.

Got a set of 3T forks on the way to replace the Wolf. Meant to be a tiny bit faster and they were going cheap on eBay 🙂

Also need a new warm up turbo wheel as disappointingly none of the spare ones I have knocking about take an 11 speed cassette. Might see if I can pick up a cheep 11 speed freehub that'll fit something.

Speaking of "budget". I did work it all out the other day. I pretty much got frame, bars, TriRig brakes, and all the Di2 stuff for what I'd have paid for something like the new Giant Trinity frameset. Pretty happy with that.

Also need a new warm up turbo wheel as disappointingly none of the spare ones I have knocking about take an 11 speed cassette. Might see if I can pick up a cheep 11 speed freehub that'll fit something.

Run it with 10 rear sprockets and a spacer on a 10 speed hub. How much of the 11T are you using to "warm up" anyway?

Don't bother setting the limit screws for a turbo trainer.

Run it with 10 rear sprockets and a spacer on a 10 speed hub. How much of the 11T are you using to "warm up" anyway?

Thought had crossed my mind. Wondered if the indexing would be all messed up. Might give it a try.

Thought I'd do a quick update as new fork just turned up. Meant to be a few seconds quicker and a fair bit lighter (full carbon steerer on this one.) Shall fit that tonight.

Got an 11 speed DT freehub for a rear wheel I can use on the warmup turbo. Annoyingly needs a bit of dishing. Not sure if this is a result of a change of freehub (possible?) or just the tight clearances on the frame having not used that wheel on that frame before.

Di2 is still brilliant on a TT bike. Though I think the dFly unit is draining the battery. At least I now know what happens when you flat the Di2 battery! If it keeps killing the battery I may take it out.

Had a lovely spin on it last night, good conditions, not much wind, really starting to gel. Excited at the prospect of decent courses and float days 🙂

Any pics of the finished bike? Not sure I've seen one.

Previous page has a couple of photos of pretty much finished bike. I'll post a few action shots when i get some 🙂

Becuase this became the de facto TT thread...

I did my first solo 10 last night, and despite my nerves thoroughly enjoyed it. I had ti start out early in the morning for work and forgot my garmin and HR strap in the rush, so added to the pressure was some googling about TTing to RPE and manual lap counting. It was windy - at hillingdon circuit - about 13mph and gusty which with my relative inexperience on the TT bars meant that I was a bag of nerves around the tight bends.

Nevertheless, with 11 laps constituting 10.4 miles I went off with a strategy of 3 laps under LTH, 3 laps harder but still under LTH, 3 laps hard over threshold and finally 2 smash laps. My first 9 laps were very consistent with the last 2 about 10 secs faster than the rest. I finally came in at 27:25 with an average of 35.2kmh which I'm really pleased to start with with as I wanted to get under 30 mins.

Lots to learn though, I had more in the tank, I need to take more corners on the 'bars and be confident enough to track wide on one of them to maximise speed through it.

I'm loving TT's though! Enough of the N+1 I'm sticking with a potential road bike consolidation & TT bike purchase over the winter type plan 😀

Nice work Kryton, well done!

Good work Kryton. When's your next one?

Given the controversial nature of this thread I may kick off another thread for TT related chit chat.

I trundled into work today on the roadie with clips, aero wheels and giro attack. Surprisingly no abuse. Will be a slow hours ride to the start and then my first 10 of the year. Last years PB (my first 10) was 26:53 on a standard road bike, so I would hope to be quicker this time round.

I'm on the tail end of a cold with blocked sinus's so who knows (getting the excuses in early!)

Well done on getting under 30, I remember that was my target to and I was super happy to do it

Best of luck DT.

If I get out of work early enough it'll be H10/8 on the TT bike. If I don't it'll be a more local non-aero 10 on the road bike. Not much to learn from the latter and it could be a fun race to do, but then I would like a proper go at a decent course too.

Well not bad. The course has changed slightly (p140) so it's now 10.7 so can't compare properly to old result. 26:48, 2 seconds slower than my buddy, dammit! Span out on the first drop so reckon I lost time there, 50x12 is too short. Power average of 262w a little below what I wanted but didn't have the overall average on screen so had little idea where I was other than the 3sec average. Finished with legs hurting but otherwise fine. I was approx 25:02 on the 10.

Didn't have the zipps on as the rear needs a re true. I'm sure I could have had those 2 seconds if I had 404s as opposed to cosmics

You'd have definitely had him with the 404's 🙂 Yours not going back with the recall?

Did the non-aero TT last night on the road bike,though I did use my 404's (seemed OK with the rules given it was no proper deep or disc wheel.) HCC118, a rolling B road out and back with a crappy surface. Bit of a scrappy effort but won it with a 23:22.

I'll do some sums later but I reckon it would have been maybe a longish 21 on the TT bike. Others who'd raced the course previously on TT bikes seemed to be coming in about two to three minutes slower on road bikes.

It's TT bike time on Sunday though, Westerley 10 open 🙂

For longer TTs (25s), do you guys drink/carry much fluid? I guess its personal preference, just interested since tt'ing is new to me, and i think i'll probably do more of it now.

How would you approach riding a hilly 25 in terms of riding to power? Ride above FTP on the climbs and recover on the descents? (which for me on sunday have sharp turns/potholes/draggy not fast)

If I'm honest the zipps are still in the loft, too many things going on at home at the moment (house up for sale). I'll try to check them for the recall this weekend. It was only the front hub though wasn't it?

A short 23 is a good time for a standard road bike...there was some lovely kit at the TT. Exorcets look the part, and the guys on them were posting 23-24min times. Might look into one for the C2W. And before anyone chimes in, yes it would be ridden to work, then the TT and back again!

Good luck for Sunday. Next one for me is the 3rd May and a course I know well.

It was only the front hub though wasn't it?

Yes, I think so. And probably the QR skewer too.

How would you approach riding a hilly 25 in terms of riding to power? Ride above FTP on the climbs and recover on the descents?

Depends really. Theory is that it's worth going a bit harder if the speed drops due to an incline (as your speed through the wind will have dropped.) So it depends on how steep the incline is, how long it is, and how fast you are going up it, and how steep the descent is and whether you can recover without losing the time you made up going harder on the incline. If there's lots of hills then repeated harder efforts can also be costly.

For longer TTs (25s), do you guys drink/carry much fluid?

Nothing on a 25.

Well done on the win Mr Blobby!

It's TT bike time on Sunday though, Westerley 10

Could be interested *fires up google*

Edit: Arse, too late.

Edit: Arse, too late.

I'd not be too disappointed! First rider is off at 7:30 (I'm around 8.15am I think) so it's going to be an early cold start 😕

Have started [url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/2016-tting-thread ]a 2016 TT thread here![/url]

Finally got an action shot...

[img] [/img]

Not much changed really. New forks. Running the 404 instead of the 808 there. Took a while to get the right spot on the Dash saddle, sit a lot further back on it than the Adamo where I was really perched on the nose. Need to work on my turtle head 🙂

So er, what approx £1000 TT bike? 🙂

I've been looking at the Ribble TT aero with 105 for £1312, or a Dolan Ares 105 for £1400.

Any other recommendations?

Any Fuji Norcoms left at Evans in the sales?? The cheapest were £1400

Yes I was looking at one last night, they have my size. Are they good?

[url= https://www.evanscycles.com/fuji-norcom-2-5-eu-2016-triathlon-bike-EV241913 ][/url]

Hmm. Bb86. I need to check if my infocrank - which went into a BB30 shell - is comparable. I'd prefer to ride with power than RPE

Reviews are ok though. I'm guessing tiagra is not really an issue at my level and it'll look good with my 50's on.

There must be a load of sh TT stuff for sale?

Is the buzz from TT improvement of your time yes? Which you could get without any purchasing 😛

Is there any data on the aero watts saved on an old steel 80s bike vs the latest?

For gods sake, it feels like Mrs K has convinced this entire place to work against my N+1

I have a Norcom and running 30 mm Rotor flow in it with hope PF 41 bb that has been flawless.

🙂 Well my old PX frame is still in the shed. Still not got around to putting it on the classifieds. Got a base bar, a selection of stems, TT shifters, and a load of assorted parts.

would it fit me - 5'11.5 & 33 inseam. I have wheels, but I needs to be BB30 for the PM.

It was a bit small for me so you should be fine. It's a bsa bb but i think praxis or rotor do a bsa bb that takes a 30mm crank.

I spent last night trawling eBay, possible to get a decent PX for £500 there.

A thought... Halfords have the Boardman Team TT (Alu, Apex) for £799 or £720 with a BC discount. It occurs to me that it might be ok for the part time TTer such as me. I wouldn't be bothered about the OEM wheels as my 50's would go on on it.

Any good?

Crikey I just read Triathlons review. They rave about it a bit.

[i]
BOARDMAN VS MODA “The Boardman is £200 cheaper but it feels like twice the bike… Add some aero wheels and you’ll be away." Looking to start your tri bike journey? Here we put two entry-level £1K steeds from Moda and Boardmanon the road – and in a timed test – to find your first multipsort two-wheel love.
BOARDMAN TEAM TT
Boardman know aero and, of course, have a long association with triathlon as well as Chris Boardman’s own exploits. Australian Pete Jacobs rode their AiR TT9.8 to Ironman world championship glory in 2012, while Britain’s Joe Skipper broke the Ironman Texas course record on the brand’s AiR TTE in 2015. So you have to think that this tri-specifc aero understanding also went into the Team TT and that Boardman wouldn’t be willing to put his name on a bike that merely looks aero. Our timed test suggested that’s certainly the case as, with no obvious advantage in its build, the Boardman went over a minute faster than the Moda at the same power, on the same evening, in the same kit. This, then, is a proper race bike.

THE BUILD
The Team TT is the entry model in Boardman’s range and the only aluminium frame. The downtube, seat tube and seatpost are all aero profled,as is the full carbon fork. The head tube is short socheck you can achieve your ideal stack height – fvesizes, two more than Moda offer, will help.Even after nine years, we’re still impressed byBoardman’s ability to use their direct sales modelto provide exceptional equipment on their bikes atevery price point. The Team TT has a SRAM Apexgroupset, Vision cockpit and an ISM Adamo saddle,the latter an especially praiseworthy andcomfortable inclusion that shows they reallyunderstand triathlon.The rear brake is tucked out of the wind behindthe bottom bracket and the gearing is racy –53/39, 11-26. Wheels are always a compromise atthis price and the Boardman is no exception. Whilethe own-brand 30mm rims have a small aeroprofle, the wheels should still be your frstupgrade. This is an assumption that Boardmanmake right through the range as every modelcomes on training wheels.

THE RIDE
Bikes at this price have to be worthy of upgrading so that you don’t outgrow them too fast if the bug for tri really bites, and Boardman have nailed it. The Team TT doesn’t feel like a wannabe, nor a cynically specced niche-plugger; this is the real deal. The frame is stiff under power and handles with encouraging neutrality so you’ll soon be carving around roundabouts in the extensions. There’s some lateral fork fex but only when out of the saddle and climbing aggressively. The wheels are the weak link, of course. They’re stiff but heavy and slow. Again, they’re fine for training but don’t race on them; as always, budget for some proper aero wheels. Thus equipped, the Team TT will, we promise you, be faster than any two-, four-, even six-grand bike on its original training wheels. A broad aero clincher wheelset with 25c tyres will also smooth the frm ride a lot. Otherwise, the Team TT is ready to race and won’t need upgrading any time soon. The ISM saddle is brilliant, and the Vision cockpit is both aero and accommodating, too. The base bar has a proper wing profle and also some compliance over poor roads, while the dense pads stay comfortable on long rides, though they don’t match the shape of the rests as neatly as they could. There’s loads of easy adjustability but you might want to swap the extensions to J-bends for a more natural wrist angle. The SRAM Apex drivetrain delivers crisp shifting and well-spaced ratios. We missed the closer stack of an 11-speed cassette during the timed test but you could fx that with an 11-23 set-up for fatter courses. The Boardman’s time of 23:35mins in our 10-mile TT test really put the Moda in its place, and is impressive given the road helmet we were wearing and the basic wheels. With an aero helmet and wheels it could probably go a minute and a half faster for the same power (323W). That course isn’t remotely quick, either, but the Boardman is.

HANDLING 85%

Good steering, stability, power transfer and speed

SPEC 88%

Vision bar and ISM saddle are highlights; no weak links

VALUE 91%

Proves you can have great performance for under £1k

COMFORT 92%

Really good bar and great saddle start you off right

VERDICT 89%

THE BUILD
The challenge for manufacturers at this price is controlling the cost without compromising performance too far. Moda has a slight advantage because it has its own Barelli component brand and its parent company is the UK agent for American Classic wheels, so both adorn the Mossa. The American Classic Victory wheels, shod with Kenda Kontender Lite tyres, are not very racy; they have 24/28 spokes and a shallow 25mm profle. If that lot saved money, it hasn’t

BOARDMAN V MODA
OVERALL VERDICT
The Boardman is £200 cheaper but it feels like twice the bike and then some. It’s built to a price and runs basic wheels, naturally, but nothing else about it will hold you back. It’s geared for racing, the contact points are outstanding and the geometry is tri-friendly. Add some second-hand aero wheels and you’ll be away. Tri bikes at this price have greater duties than simply providing immediate value. They also have to be worth upgrading and able to keep pace as your ftness develops. But more than that, they should feel inspiring and exciting, a gateway to the next level of multisport competition. The Boardman is a shining example of that.

Review in 220 Triathlon, July 2016 [/i]

Budget for a respray. It looks awful.